


Things Don't Always Make Sense

by fanoftheprofoundbond



Category: Doctor Who, Supernatural
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-18
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-05-01 00:04:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5184737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanoftheprofoundbond/pseuds/fanoftheprofoundbond
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam meets a stripper named Amy, whom he falls in love with and who begins to go on hunts with the Winchesters. But when the Doctor and Rory show up, they realize they have a problem. The Doctor and Rory have no idea how they got here, and Amy doesn't remember them. Castiel has a choice to make about Claire, and Dean could have a way to get rid of the Mark of Cain. (started on fanfiction.net during season ten, spinning off from there)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Winchesters, Meet Amy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Sam woke up that sunny morning and recalled._
> 
> It was a case that Sam wasn't really comfortable with from the beginning. A vampire had been targeting a strip club, or so the hunter who had been called away from the case for what he had called a 'family emergency' had told them. Dean, of course was ecstatic.

_Sam woke up that sunny morning and recalled._

It was a case that Sam wasn't really comfortable with from the beginning. A vampire had been targeting a strip club, or so the hunter who had been called away from the case for what he had called a 'family emergency' had told them. Dean, of course was ecstatic.

"And get this... it's a vamp case with _strippers_. Finally!" Dean made a fist pump.

Sam rolled his eyes.

"Remember that we're working don't enjoy yourself too much."

"Dude, I always enjoy work. This will just be... more enjoyable."

Sam sighed, but didn't complain. It was enough to see a little bit of a light come into Dean's eyes. After the whole episode with killing Cain, Sam could see that everything wasn't alright with his brother. Dean hadn't slept for 'four days' like he said he was going to. In fact, he had barely slept at all. He insisted that he was fine, and that he wanted to work. Sam was glad for an opportunity to give Dean something to get the Mark of Cain off his mind, but he was going to watch Dean closely. Very closely.

They went to the strip club early. Sam would've noted that Henry had told them that the vamp only showed up late at night, but he let Dean choose. Anything to keep that light in his eyes. He only made a slight complaint when Dean chose a table right up near the... errr, _action_. Sam chose a table further back, saying that he was going to keep an eye on the whole room. Dean only nodded, his eyes already on a scantily dressed woman.

It wasn't that Sam didn't like the images he was trying to avoid. It's just that if he wanted to have sex with a woman, he wanted it to be someone he actually felt a connection to. And then, he would want to respect her. Dean didn't seem to have an issue he was a big one for onenight stands and going to strip clubs and reading his Busty Asian Beauty magazines. Though Sam had to admit that there hadn't been a whole lot of that recently not since Castiel had started hanging around the bunker more.

Sam shook his head to clear his thoughts. He had to concentrate not worry about Dean and Castiel's bromance.

And that's how the rest of the night went Sam relapsing back into worrying about something about Dean, and then remembering he had work to do, and then relapsing again. That is, until one of the strippers suddenly came up to his table.

"Hey baby, you don't seem to be enjoying yourself very much."

Sam was startled out of his thoughts to see a redhaired girl standing before him. She was wearing green lingerie, which brought out the colour of her eyes. Sam found his eyes roaming lower than he wanted them to before he could stop himself. He quickly forced himself to look only at her face, finding himself flushing.

"Uhh... no. I'm fine. Really. I'm just here to... uhh, make sure my brother doesn't get into trouble." Sam nodded over to where Dean was sitting. His nerves were on edge and his voice was a little higher than it normally was.

Damn, but he had to admit that she was gorgeous. Her face was beautiful, but he still found it hard not to look at the rest of her. Those luscious lips, those sparkling eyes... Hell, why not? Let himself have a break off from worrying about Dean... Sam let himself look appreciatively at the white skin of her arms and shoulders.

The ginger girl turned a head. Dean was looking at them, his eyes shocked, like he couldn't believe that this stripper had just walked past him and had chosen his brother look on Dean's face suddenly snapped Sam back into reality.

"Y'know, I know someone else who would be really interested..." Sam's voice caught in his throat as the gorgeous young woman looked back at him. Dammit, he didn't have time for this. He was on a job. And Dean was more important.  
"Really?" The woman raised her eyebrows coyly. "I think there's someone right here..."

The lights suddenly snapped on and the ginger flinched. Sam heard a man yelling out _Sorry!_ , and the lights going back off, but it was enough.

So the stripper was the vampire. He had to play this right. Play along. It wouldn't be hard, though he couldn't ever look at her in the same way again.

Sam glanced over at Dean. Dean nodded and gave a thumbs up. He had noticed, too, and was on board with the plan.

So he looked back and gave the ginger stripper a big smile.

"Actually, I think I would be interested, after all."

The ginger smirked. "That's what I wanted to hear."

She grabbed Sam's hand and led him towards the back. It was dark there, but Sam trusted Dean to be able to find them. Now he had other things to worry about. The ginger had pushed him against the wall, her hands playing with the buttons of his plaid shirt as she leaned in and began to kiss him deeply. Sam groaned inwardly, but kissed her back to play along. This felt so _wrong_ , kissing a vamp. Though he had to admit her kisses were making his head whirl a little...

A scream suddenly broke out, and Dean came rushing up to them just as the stripper pulled away, a look of fear in her green eyes. Sam found that his shirt was half unbuttoned.

"She's not the vamp! It was the guy sitting in the booth next to you. The one in the leather jacket," Dean had obvious distaste in his tone with the last words that a leather jacket would be defiled by such a creature wearing it.

"Wait, what? Vamp? Vampire? What are you talking about?" The stripper had confusion in her eyes.

But she hadn't run away. And she didn't look very scared. Sam marvelled at that fact, but his mind quickly turned to other matters.

"Dean! Behind you!"

Too late. The vampire, a man with brown curly hair and curly beard sent Dean flying against the wall.

"Dean!" Sam shouted, pulling out his machete that he had concealed underneath his shirt. He guessed he had to thank the stripper for opening his shirt so that he could get to it easier, but now his shirt was flapping around.

Dean didn't respond.

"Sorry, but I don't think he'll be up and about for a while," the vampire sneered. He lunged towards Sam, open mouth with the fangs already in place.

Sam swung out with the machete, but the vamp had good reflexes, and he dodged the movement easily. Then it was a game of lunging, dodging, sidestepping, swinging out, back and forth. The vampire caught Sam's wrist and twisted it until Sam let go of the machete in pain. The vampire kicked it away, and then he had Sam pinned to the wall. Pinned to the wall again. By the real vamp this time.

"I feel like you're going to be an extra tasty one," the vampire smirked, holding Sam easily even with all his struggling. He bent his head towards Sam's neck...

And suddenly, there was no head, at least on the vamp's neck. As if it were magic and could move by itself, the machete easily sliced through the vampire's neck, and the curlyhaired head went flying to the floor. The grip on Sam's arms released, and the headless body toppled to the floor... revealing the ginger stripper holding the blade, breathing hard.

"You?" Sam asked, finding it hard to believe that this had actually happened.

"Uhh... yeah. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was me." The girl suddenly grinned.

"How did you know to go for the head?" Sam asked, suddenly wondering if perhaps this girl was a hunter undercover.

The girl shrugged. "I have no idea. I just acted on impulse. Funny... it feels like I've done something like this before... not a vampire. But killing one of the bad guys." Now she looked confused.

So she wasn't a hunter then. But she was a mystery. A mystery that Sam was suddenly very intrigued in that is, until his curiousity was suddenly put on hold when he remembered his brother.

"Dean!" He rushed over to Dean's side.

His brother was breathing and looked to be in not too bad a shape, though he did have an angry welt on his forehead.

"We can take him to my place... I've got an extra bed, and I know some First Aid," the girl offered, standing over the two of them. Seeing the 'no' beginning to form on Sam's face, she added, "And I want to hear about this vampire. And how you know about this stuff. I think you owe me that much for saving your life."

Sam nodded quickly. "Okay. Thanks."

He leaned down and scooped his brother up into his arms, standing up unsteadily.

"Okay, then you can lead the way... what's your name, by the way?"

The ginger smiled, looking up from putting on a coat to cover her lack of clothing.

"I'm Amelia Pond... but you can call me Amy."


	2. Your Story + My Story = Our Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amy was sitting on the couch, properly dressed now. She was wearing a pair of very short cutoff jean shorts and a dark navy blue oversized sweater. She had her legs crossed, and Sam couldn't help but notice the white skin of her bare legs, and how slim they were. He quickly made himself look at her face, and smiled a little in greeting. Amy smiled back. It was a friendly smile, but Sam couldn't help but notice that there was a little of that coyness in her expression that he had seen back at the strip club. It made him wonder if it was just hard for her to adjust between the two different worlds, or if maybe she...

Amy lived on the fourth floor of an apartment building and as luck would have it, the elevators weren't working at this time of the night. Sam never realized that Dean could be so heavy.

When they finally made it to the room, Amy pulled out her key... but the door flew open before she could fit it into the lock. A slim girl with olive skin and dark brown hair, who looked to be in her early thirties, opened the door.

"Amy! You're back early!" The girl had a slight French accent, her voice smooth and gliding along the accent.

"Why..." She suddenly stopped, seeing Sam struggling to hold Dean.

"Oh my God, what happened?"

"Colette, this is a friend. His brother got hurt in a fight over at the club," Amy quickly explained.

Sam gave Colette a quick smile and nod.

"Sam Winchester... this is Dean. I'd give you my hand, but I'm a little... occupied at the moment."

Colette gave him a small smile in the return. "Right... sorry. Here... follow me. You can put him in my room."

She led the way, but not before looking at Dean in a way that Sam knew all too well.

 _In_ her _room particularly, huh?_

But Sam followed Colette into the apartment. Colette's room was the first door on the left... thank goodness. Sam didn't think he had the strength to drag his feet any farther. He laid Dean gently on the bed.

"That's a nasty injury," Colette said, leaning over the bed as well. "But not too bad. I'll go get some ice to bring the swelling down."

She left, and Sam was left alone in silence, watching over his unconscious brother. Dean's chest rose and fell a little from his breathing. His face looked peaceful... the most peaceful Sam had seen it in a while. That reminded him about this whole business with the Mark of Cain. If only they could remove it somehow... but Cain said there was no cure. Dean thought he could live with it, like Cain did for centuries. But Sam could tell that Dean was only hanging on by a thread. There had to be something he could do. It almost made him think that Dean's idea of staying a teenager when he got turned by that witch was almost a good idea. But now that was thrown out of the window, too.

Sam sighed. He honestly didn't know _what_ to do.

"Got some ice and First Aid stuff," Colette said softly, coming into the room again. "I can take over from here."

She gave Sam a hard look, one of those please-go-away-now-so-I-don't-have-to-say-it-explicitly looks.

"Amy's waiting for you in the living room," she added.

Sam nodded tightly. "Okay," he said quietly. "Just let me know when Dean wakes up, okay?"

"Sure." Colette gave him a small smile.

Sam left the bedroom and continued down the hall. It opened up on a room at the end kitchen nook on the left, small living space with a couch, little glass table with a bowl of potpourri, and a fireplace with a TV on the mantle.

Amy was sitting on the couch, properly dressed now. She was wearing a pair of very short cutoff jean shorts and a dark navy blue oversized sweater. She had her legs crossed, and Sam couldn't help but notice the white skin of her bare legs, and how slim they were. He quickly made himself look at her face, and smiled a little in greeting. Amy smiled back. It was a friendly smile, but Sam couldn't help but notice that there was a little of that coyness in her expression that he had seen back at the strip club. It made him wonder if it was just hard for her to adjust between the two different worlds, or if maybe she... He quickly wiped that thought away. Why was he thinking about her in that way? She was just a girl, and a _stripper_ at that. That was Dean's type, not his.

"Hey," Sam said finally, realizing he hadn't said anything since he came in. How long had he been staring at her?

"Hey." Amy smiled broadly at him. She had that sparkle in her eyes that she had gotten after she had killed the vamp.

"Would you like something to drink?" she asked, uncrossing her legs and getting up. Sam suddenly realized that she had a Scottish lilt to her voice, something he hadn't noticed before.

"Uh... no. That's okay," Sam lied. He was really thirsty after carrying Dean up three flights of stairs and down seven blocks.

"It's no problem," Amy cocked her head in the slightest. Her r's had a slight roll to them that made tingles go up and down Sam's arms. "Are you sure?"

_What the hell, Sam? Get your head out of the clouds._

"Weell, if you have a beer, that'd be good then. I mean, if that's okay," Sam stammered a little.

Amy smiled again. "As I said, it's no problem."

She went over to the fridge. The appliance was black, like the stove and countertops. Sam sat down on the couch awkwardly, on the opposite end that Amy had been sitting on. She came back to the couch with two beers and handed Sam one. But instead of sitting down where she had originally been sitting, she took the middle. Her leg brushed against his momentarily as she sat down, making Sam close his eyes briefly, revelling in the touch. Then he cursed himself. What was _he_ thinking? Actually, what was _she_ thinking?

Amy popped her can and took a sip before speaking up again. "So... you said you were going to tell me your story."

Sam opened his mouth. He had meant to start with the brief idea that there were indeed monsters and that he and his brother killed them to keep people safe. But he found himself starting at the beginning, way back when his mother died and his father made it his lifelong goal to kill the demon, Azazel, who had caused Mary Winchester's death. He didn't know why... maybe it was her eyes that made him feel like she was looking into his soul, and could already know what he was saying, anyway, if she wanted to dig deep enough. He felt like he could trust her... maybe because of that adventurous sparkle that had come into her eyes after the vampire. Or maybe he had just held onto all of this way too long... that he needed to unload this all onto someone, like Dean back when he knew Cassie. Or all three. Whatever, it was, he told her everything. The life he had lived at Stanford, trying to get away from it all... Dean coming to tell him that Dad was missing... their first cases back again together as a team... finding Dad... Dad's death... Dean's death... Castiel... the Apocalypse... Lucifer... Hell... Kevin... Charlie... Leviathon... Purgatory... Amelia... how much he had wanted to get away... and how much he needed to stay... and the Mark of Cain and how worried he was about Dean.

He poured it all out, forgetting about the beer until his voice cracked from his throat being so dry, and Amy reached out a hand and took the can from him, cracked it open, and handed it back. Sam took a gulp and began again. Somewhere in the middle, he suddenly realized that Amy was holding his hand. But he didn't pull away. He found, to his dismay, that he liked it. But he forgot the shock in his own story and the warm feeling that small white hand gave him.

When he was done, there was silence for a few moments. Sam's beer had been drunk up a long time ago. Sam looked around and saw that the clock read a quarter to two. He was going to get up and see if Dean was okay, but Amy's voice stopped him and made him turn back and look at her.

"Wow... that's quite a life you boys got there. I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that, Sam." Her eyes were sympathetic.

"But I'm sure you'll find some way to get through this. I know it seems desperate, but you've been in bad situations before. And they always worked out. Why would this time be any different?"

Sam found himself nodding. Charlie had said something along those lines as well, but he hadn't really thought about them. But when Amy said it, it made sense. Maybe it was the retelling of his and Dean's life that made him look at the big picture and realize it. Or maybe it was that _Amy_ made sense.

"You're right." He bit his lip, but then smiled a little, nodding again. "I think you're right."

He suddenly realized that he had been loading all his sorrows on her, and yet he knew next to nothing about Amy. And she was still holding his hand. And he still didn't pull away.

"But what about you... what's your life story?"

Amy smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Well... there's nothing much to tell, really," she answered. "About three months ago, I woke up in an alley behind a restaurant. I couldn't remember anything about who I was, or where I came from, except my name. Colette found me and took me in." Seeing the sympathetic look in Sam's eyes, she hurried on. "But it's not so bad, really. It's kinda cool, making a fresh start. I... just sometimes wonder if, wherever I came from, I left behind some loved ones. I hope they don't worry about me."

"Maybe Dean and I can help you find out about your past," Sam offered before he even realized what he was doing. But somehow, it felt right. That's what he and Dean did, anyway, right? Help people. And he found that he desperately wanted to help Amy. He also didn't want to never see her again, like all the other people they helped.

Amy's face lit up. "Really? You think we could figure it out?"

Sam shrugged. "Well, Dean and I do solve cases as a living. It's worth a shot, anyway." He gave her a quizzical look. "Why did you decide to work in a strip club, of all places? With a fresh start, you could have started anywhere."

"Oh. Well." Amy flushed a tiny bit. "I don't even really know... In the faint memories I get sometimes... I feel like I did this before. Well, maybe not exactly this... but something like it. I also felt that I wanted... you know." She flushed a little more. "I just sometimes get this feeling as if there used to be someone in my life before. And it makes this big hole that I need to fill... to replace whoever he was."

Sam nodded. He suddenly felt disappointed. If there really _was_ someone in Amy's life, he couldn't step in, especially if they were going to search for Amy's past. Suddenly, he found himself wishing that he hadn't offered. Or that he could be back in that strip club, with Amy kissing him. And this time, he'd kiss her back.

"I'm sure we'll find him when we figure out your past," he said, his voice gruff.

Amy seemed to start at his tone of voice. Sam kicked himself mentally. He couldn't show that he felt for her, was already feeling something for this beautiful ginger with green eyes and the love for the thrill of adventure that they shared...

"You know what... I don't know if I really want to find him anymore," she said.

Now it was Sam's turn to start. "What? I thought you said..."

His voice was cut off because Amy suddenly let go of his hand and then leaned in, her hands going around to the back of his neck, pulling him to her, kissing him. Kissing him so deeply that Sam lost his breath. But when she pulled away, it suddenly occurred to him what had happened. She liked him, too. Sam found his hands snaking around her waist, pulling her towards him as he leaned in and kissed her back. Amy kissed him back with furious intensity. She suddenly pulled him up from the couch, still kissing him. It was a matter of moments before she had pulled him down the hall, into a bedroom which he guessed was hers, and shut the door, which she pushed him up against.

"So I get you in the end," she smirked.

Sam leaned down, kissing her, his hands playing with the bottom of her sweater.

"Now our stories can become intertwined," he mumbled over her lips.

"You're so sappy," Amy laughed a little bit.

And then they didn't speak anymore... at least not in words.


	3. The Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Dean, we help people. This is no different."
> 
> "This is a hell of a lot different! We help people by... !" Dean suddenly remembered the presence of Colette and bit his tongue. "This is not our kind of thing," he added, lamely.

When Dean woke up, he wasn't in the dark back hall of the strip club, a place that he had found hadn't been so great after all. He had gotten a queer feeling when he looked up strippers' legs... as if it were... _wrong_. Like he should be doing something else... like there was _someone_ else.

 _Dammit Dean. Stop thinking about him. Cas is your_ friend.

But honestly, he would much rather be in a bar drinking bad beer with his best friend. No, he didn't think about Castiel that way. But being with Cas made him feel so good, something that he never felt with any chick. Not even Lisa.

Anyway, back on topic. _Dammit, why did his brain keep switching back to things he didn't want to think about._ Here he was, no longer lying on a dark, dirty floor, but a bed that was pretty damn comfortable... and there was a beautiful dark-skinned French-looking girl hanging over him with a smile on her lips.

"Did I die? Is this Heaven?" he murmured. "They musta got a new stock of angels because this is way better than the ones they used to have."

The French girl snickered, breaking the spell. "I'd love to be your angel, baby."

Dean snapped out of it. "Who are you?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "Where am I? Where's Sam?"

He tried to get out of the bed, but the French girl put a hand to his chest, stopping him. He found himself tensing at the touch not only because she could be anything because he wasn't interested in her. Strange feeling, but he didn't. It was kind of like back at the strip club. He had found recently that he hadn't been so interested in his old one-night stand life. The idea scared him, so he tried to push himself into it, try to change this weird new Dean. But it didn't seem to work...

_Dammit Dean. Get your mind on the business at hand._

"Umm, well, I'll go from the second-last question and work my way around," the French girl pressed her hand a little harder on his chest. She seemed to be aware of his discomfort, and was furthermore enjoying it.

"You're in me and my friend Amy's apartment. You were knocked out in a bar fight, as far as Amy says. She and Sam brought you back here to patch you up. As for your brother..." the French girl smirked. "I think he's asleep in Amy's room. Finally. The noises coming from that room were a little gross."

Dean raised his eyebrows. Well, he had really missed out on a lot. This must be how Garth felt like whenever he woke up from being knocked out. But then, empathy with Garth wasn't really what he was looking for right now. However, it was her next words that really got to him.

"Oh... and the first question. I almost forgot. My name's Colette." She smiled at him. "You're Dean, right?"

Dean had always thought that the phrase 'blood running cold' was a stupid cliché for soap operas and chick flicks. But, for the first time, he suddenly felt the life-sustaining liquid in his veins chill.

"C...olette?" he asked, his voice suddenly going weak.

 _Cain's_ Colette?!

Colette grimaced. "No, it's Cosette," she said sarcastically. "Haha. The Les Mis references are only funny on the first hundred times."

Dean opened his mouth, a stream of words about to pour forth. _So I_ am _in Heaven, aren't I? Or hell or Purgatory or some damn place we haven't heard about yet. And you're Colette... where's Cain? Where's that son of a bitch? I'm going to kill him, for good this time._ But he stopped when he saw the exasperated look, but otherwise blank and devoid of meaning on Colette's face. She didn't know. She had nothing to do with Cain. Hell, she probably didn't even know that monsters existed.

"Sorry," he finally managed to say. "I... uh... know someone who knows someone named Colette. I thought you might be her. But you're not. Sorry."

Colette raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh." She didn't look convinced at all. Dammit, why did this chick have to be the observant type?

Dean ignored the topic for the moment. "Can I get up now?" he asked, looking Colette's hand, still on his chest.

"Oh. Right. Yes." Colette quickly removed her hand, looking flustered for the first time.

Dean quickly sat up and swung his legs over the bed. His head suddenly buzzed, making him grip the edge of the mattress tight. He put a hand up to his forehead, feeling the bandage. Then the feeling cleared, and he found himself able to stand up.

"You banged your head pretty good," Colette commented, already straightening the blankets on the bed now that he wasn't lying in it. Dean found himself vaguely wondering whether this girl had some obsessive compulsive disorder about the arrangement of sheets.

"Can I get something to eat?" Dean asked. If Sam had already gotten comfy, he might as well take advantage of the situation.

Colette nodded. "Kitchen is down the hall. Take anything you want."

And that's how Dean found himself in a sunny kitchen nook, sitting at the table, eating a bowl of corn flakes with milk. Corn flakes! With milk. The unexpired type. He had to admit, this little experience of domesticity was nice. The bunker was great, but this little apartment had a whole different feel about it. Maybe it was the feminine touch about the place - the lace curtains, how tidy everything was, how shiny the appliances all were... It reminded him a little bit of his year with Lisa a great year, but something he could never go back to, and, strangely enough, didn't really want to go back to anymore.

Colette joined him, eating cereal, too, except that she had some exotic cereal... something apple-strawberry-granola-cluster-with-flax-and-Omega3 crap that Dean couldn't wrap his head around. Plain was simple and best.

It wasn't long before Sam and Amy emerged. First, the shower started running, and then Sam had appeared, clothes thrown on, not bothering or not noticing (probably the latter) his bed hair.

"Mornin', Sammy," Dean smirked at his brother. "Have a good night?" Colette snickered in the middle of putting a spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

Sam grinned, a little sheepishly. He _grinned_. Where was that usually shy Sam who didn't like talking about sex, except when it was to reprimand Dean about his?

"Yeah, I did."

He went over to the cupboard, grabbing the same cereal Colette had, pouring it into a bowl before grabbing milk from the refrigerator. Then he came back to the table.

"We've got a case, Dean," he said seriously, sitting down.

Dean blinked. "A case? What case?"

He glanced over at Colette, who was looking very interested at this turn of conversation. Dammit, had this girl made Sam completely abandon sense? What was he doing mentioning the word 'case' in front of this woman they knew nothing about, this... this civilian?

"It's Amy. She has no memory of her past, and I told her that we would help her find out," Sam said, mouth full, paying more attention to the cereal than Dean.

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Oh, you _said_ , did you...?"

Sam looked up and gave him a disgusted look.

"Dean, we help people. This is no different."

"This is a hell of a lot different! We help people by... !" Dean suddenly remembered the presence of Colette and bit his tongue. "This is not our kind of thing," he added, lamely.

"Well, this is certainly very interesting," Colette piped up, leaning forward. "How do you help people? Does this job involve getting knocked out in bars?"

Dean groaned. "This is your problem, Sammy."

Sam seemed to notice Colette for the first time. _His head really must be up in the clouds._ He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times... and then was saved by the entrance of Amy.

Dean had to admit, she was pretty gorgeous. Well, more than pretty. Damn. He looked her up and down appreciatively, then turned away to make sure he wasn't invading into his brother's territory.

"Hey, Sam," Amy greeted, coming over to the table and leaning down to kiss him. Sam turned his head to meet her lips. The kiss only lingered between them a few minutes, but it was enough to make Dean raise his eyebrows. When Sam looked back in front of him and noticed Dean staring at him this way, he gave Dean his signature bitch face. Dean looked down at his cereal, but he was smirking.

"How are you feeling, Dean?" Amy asked, taking Dean aback with her bothering to talk to him. She went over the counter, taking out some coffee and spooning it into the coffee machine. "You hit your head pretty badly last night."

"Uhhh... yeah, I'm good. A little confused how I suddenly ended up here, but good."

"Perfectly understandable." Amy turned back and gave him a winning smile. "Would you like some coffee?"

Dean was taken aback again. Dammit, this was so _weird_ , being in a kitchen again with a woman who would ask him if he wanted anything while she was up, etc. etc. But it also felt really good, he had to admit.

He smiled back at her. "Yeah, that'd be great, thanks."

"Sam?" Amy prompted as she spooned in some more coffee into the machine for Dean.

Sam gave her a quick smile. "I'd love some."

"And there's obviously no use asking Colette," Amy noted, closing compartment where the coffee went and going over to the sink with the carafe to fill it with water.

"Ugh, no." Colette shook her head emphatically. "I'll make myself some tea."

"No, it's okay." Amy poured the water into the back of the coffee machine and turned it on. "I can boil some water while I'm up."

She came back over to the table with a muffin on a little plate and sat next to Sam.

"So... Dean. Sam tells me that you two would be willing to help me find about my past."

Dean had detested the idea. But when she looked at him with those vibrant green eyes with such a happy, hopeful look in them... Dammit. He couldn't say no. Not when their job was to help people. This job was completely different than anything they had ever done, yes, but, still...

"Yeah, we'd be glad to help," Dean said as cheerfully as he could, though he still didn't like the idea. "I haven't heard your whole story yet, though... I mean, what you know. It would be helpful if you could brief me on that."

So Amy retold her story and Dean considered. This was going to be a long shot. But he supposed they could try... he could try, for Sam's sake. He hadn't seen his brother so happy in a long time. Dean still felt guilt for the life he had taken away from his brother. The life Sam had always wanted. Sam had tried so hard, so many times... first Jess. Last time it was Amelia. Sam had come so close to that life with Amelia. And while Dean had complained bitterly about Sam not trying to find him, deep down, he had to agree with Sam. And he wished he could give that life back to him.

So if Sam wanted to try again with Amy, and there was anything Dean could do to make sure this wouldn't fall to pieces yet again... well, then, he would damn well do the best he could.

But it was Amy's ending statement that really caught him off guard.

"And I thought while we search for my past... maybe you could teach me to hunt?"

"Hunt?" Dean tried to hide his dismay, but from the warning face Sam was giving him, it hadn't work. "What do you mean, hunt?"

"You know," Amy prodded. "Saving people, hunting things, the family business."

Dean was so shocked, he forgot that there was someone else in the room who didn't know about monsters and could still be sheltered from it if he was careful.

"You _told_ her?" Dean hissed at Sam.

"Dean, she already knew. While you were out cold, that vamp went for me next. I would have died if Amy hadn't stepped in and saved me. So, yeah, of course I gave her the talk."

Dean folded his arms. "It sounds like a little more than the customary talk."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Okay. I told her about our past. Big deal. Didn't you do the same with Cassie?"

"Cassie was di..." Dean's voice drained away. He had to admit, Sam had a point. And if Amy already knew and Sam was planning on trying a life with her, he couldn't argue.

"Okay, fine. You win." Dean leaned back in his chair. "But I don't want to go hunting with her. It's too dangerous."

" _Her_ is right here in the room sitting in front of you," Amy noted, leaning forward to stare at him with those green eyes. There was an almost dangerous light in them now... something Dean didn't want to cross. "And I think I already proved that I can handle a monster situation."

"Wait, wait, hold up. What are you talking about?" Colette reminded the three that she was still in the room. "Monsters are real? What the hell?"

Amy turned to her friend. "Uhh... yeah. Yeah, they are. Dean didn't hit his head in that bar. Okay, he did. But that was because he was flung across the room by a vampire."

Colette's eyes were wide in shock and wonder and a little bit of disbelief.

"No way..." she whispered. She shook her head. "No _way_ ," she said again, her tone stronger.

"Yes way." Amy nodded emphatically. "If you come alone with us, then we'll show you."

"Uh, there is no way she is coming with us," Dean broke in. "Amy, maybe. Okay. But her? No. No untrained civilians on this quest. Mission. Thing."

Sam gave him his bitch face again. "Dude, stop quoting _The Lord of the Rings_."

"She's my friend!" Amy broke in. "And if I say Colette can come along, then she can come along!" Her eyes had that dangerous light in them again.

"Oh, so you're in charge of this gig now?" Dean leaned forward, his own green eyes snapping.

"Since it's my past we're dealing with, yes." Amy's face had a _do-not-dare-try-to-cross-me_ look on it.

"Fine," Dean snapped. "Now we have two people to try to protect, let alone trying to cover each other's backs. See you all wherever the next life is because we're obviously not lasting long."

He stood up from the table and stalked out of the room. After the door to the hall outside the apartment slammed shut, the coffee timer dinged.


	4. That Makes Sense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He told himself that he still hated her, but it made him feel so much better than he still had _it_ , he could still do this with random women. He was seeing Colette there during it all and he wasn't. But he had missed this - _damn,_ he _had_ missed this. Or so he told himself.

"No, no, no... not like that!" Dean almost... no, he actually did yell, at Colette as the bullets went flying everywhere but the target.

"That's how they do it in the movies!" Colette screamed back at him.

Dean let loose a string of vulgarity, ending with " _damn_ Hollywood. They don't know the first thing about how to even hold a gun."

So, yes... Amy had won out in the end. Dean had to admit, he hadn't been as resolute as he should have been. But he reminded himself of that happy look in Sam's eyes, and how he had screwed up his brother's life time and time again. So, yeah... yeah, he had finally let Sam for it was ultimately Sam this was all for get his way.

They had brought the girls back to the bunker for some hunter training because there was no way that Dean was going to let Amy, let alone Colette, face a monster with no training, no matter that she had already killed a vampire. Amy had moved into Sam's room first thing, and Dean knew perfectly well that Colette would like nothing better than share his. Dammit, but the chick was so _annoying_. She followed Dean everywhere, asking him everything about the bunker and about hunting. Usually, Dean would be proud to talk about the past home of the Men of Letters and about his and his brother's job (ending with a smirk and 'we're _legacies_ '), but Colette just rubbed him the wrong way. The longer Dean was around her, the more the detested the woman. She just couldn't seem to understand the _back off, lady_ that Dean was giving her a thousand times every day. 

Three days at the bunker... _three days_ , and while Amy was learning quickly (he had to admit, Sam had made quite a catch with her), Colette had seemed to learn nothing. Taking Colette to the room in the basement specifically for target practice was both a good thing and a bad thing. Colette would mess everything up. That irritated Dean more than anything. So did Colette's attitude. She just couldn't see that she needed to try harder. No, it was the _gun_ or the _target_ or _Dean had pushed her_ (when really it was Colette trying to touch him as often as possible) or _there was a breeze_.

"A breeze?!" Dean had asked her sarcastically. "Now where the hell would a breeze come from if this room is sealed from the outside and there's no air conditioning?"

Colette just ignored him, giving a little toss of her hair that looked nowhere as impressive as she probably hoped it would.

But during target practice, at least he had a reason that he could yell at her, vent his frustration. Colette had begun to shout back at him, her words becoming as obscene, perhaps even more, than his. Their relationship had turned into a thrilling and exhilarating tossing of garbage at each other, each enjoying it as much as the other.

Colette lowered her hands, still holding the handgun in the way Dean had told her yesterday would just get her killed from the backfire. Her hands moved to her hips.

"You think you know everything, don't you?" she snapped at him.

"No, I don't. But I can take pride in the fact that I do know a thing or two about the job I've had since I was a kid, and I sure know a hell lot more about it than you do," Dean told her nastily.

Colette raised her gun again, and, turning, took another shot. The bullet hit as far away from the target as it possibly could in fact, it was a miracle it hadn't ricocheted back.

" _Son of a bitch!_ " Dean reached up and grabbed the gun, wrenching it out of her hands. Colette cried out in pain and dropped the gun into his hands. "Can't you do anything right?"

What happened next surprised Dean more than anything had surprised him in a while probably not since Cas had come back to the bunker and stated oh-so-casually that he had had sex with that angel April. Now _that_ had been a shocker. It had also hit him harder than he cared to admit.

A small olive-shaded hand rose and slapped his cheek, hard. It was a lot more force than Dean had expected Colette had in her, and, in fact, he was just able to keep himself from stumbling back. He stared at her, blinking, eyes wide.

"Didn't think I had that in me, did you?" Colette smirked at him. "Well, there's a lot more from where that came from."

She raised her hand again, and Dean - coward instinct activated - ducked. But Colette was too quick, and struck him again would you believe it? harder this time. Dean felt his face beginning to burn from the harsh contact. Maybe he had earned the first slap, yes. But a second one? And Colette kept slapping three, four, six times. Dean's head struck against the cement wall, but it didn't hurt nearly as much as Colette's slaps that were closer to punches. She raised her hand a seventh time, and Dean closed his eyes, giving up.

But instead of a stinging sensation, her hands grabbed both sides of his face and Dean felt himself being pulled forward, his chin being tilted downward. He opened his eyes and gasped just as Colette's lips pressed against his own, greedily seeking.

For the first time in his life, Dean wasn't quite sure what to do with this kiss. He still disliked Colette more than anything... but the soft feeling of her lips was driving him crazy. He couldn't _not_ kiss her back. So he did, eyelids fluttering closed... not feeling Colette, but perhaps pretending that it was someone else.

And that's how Dean found himself waking up in his room with Colette the next morning yes, she had finally gotten there. He told himself that he still hated her, but it made him feel so much better than he still had _it_ , he could still do this with random women. He was seeing Colette there during it all and he wasn't. But he had missed this - _damn,_ he _had_ missed this. Or so he told himself.

Things didn't always make sense to Dean, but sex did. The passion, the lust, forgetting himself in skin and touches. No Mark, no screwing up everything and everyone he ever cared about. He hadn't been able to lose himself in this for so long, but with Colette came a kind a relief, a mixed relief that was only present when her body was pressed to his.

They still screamed at each other during target practice, the screams fading away as Colette dropped her handgun and pushed him up against the wall. Or sometimes it was he who initiated it. All he knew was that Colette started to actually pay attention to the skill needed as ironic as that sounded and she would stand steady, gun in proper position, firing, though still not very accurately, in between the soft kisses Dean placed on her neck. He wanted her... he must want her. Sam teased him about it, but Dean didn't really care. He threw himself into this, telling himself he needed this. And, yeah, he felt really great when the passion was high and her skin was his playground. But when it wasn't, he felt miserable.

So he just dove into it more.

_Cas._

_You haven't called._

_Or texted._

_It's been_ weeks _, man!_

_Do I need to force you to call on a regular basis?_

_I know you're busy spending bonding time with Claire, and I understand that it's important._

_But just pick up the damn phone and call!_

_How hard is it?_


	5. Cybermen Don't Care for Chick Flicks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A robot stood on the table. It had teardrop shaped eyes and a circle embedded in its chest from which a blue light shone forth, kind of like something out of the _Iron Man_ movies that Dean had on his favourites pile by the TV in the bunker. It also had a metal rod sticking out of each side of its head, rounding its head in an arch... almost like headphones, Sam thought.
> 
> Colette wasn't having any of it.
> 
> "Oh, don't you dare try to make a diversion when I'm in the middle of breaking up with you, Dean Winchester!" she yelled after taking one look at the robot. "Don't you dare!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, adding another chapter to this has deleted all kudos and comments. I'm too exhausted to struggle against the Internet.

Sam stared out the window as the two couples sat in a diner in the town which the bunker was on the outskirts of.

He was worried about this whole thing with Dean and Colette. He hadn't been at first. He had thought it would be just one of those short-term flings and then Colette would be packing her bags and leaving. He had to admit, the girl wasn't his cup of tea, although she didn't drive him nuts quite like she had used to with Dean. It was when the relationship kept stable, if you could call it that, that Sam grew concerned. It wasn't that it was long term. A long relationship was good. No a long and healthy relationship was good. But Sam saw how Dean threw his whole strength into this thing with Colette. It was like how he had tried to drown his sorrows in way too much beer a few nights after killing Cain (which had also been the night after Cas left the bunker because Claire had called him). Dean wasn't one to face problems like the Mark of Cain. No, he used other things to distract himself. And from the way that Dean was throwing his whole self into this relationship, Sam could tell he must be hurting pretty bad. He was surprised that Colette hadn't seen it. This wasn't love it was purely lust, nothing else. There was way too much kissing... too much sex. That's pretty much all the relationship was.

He had tried talking to Dean, but Dean had always brushed him off with a I'm fine, man. Wouldn't I tell you if there was something wrong?

_No, that's just it, Dean. You never would. You never do._

He was startled out of his thoughts by Colette's voice asking, "Who's Cas?"

Sam blinked. He looked up to see Colette looking at Dean's phone. Dean was looking just a teensy bit flustered. Okay, maybe more than a teensy bit.

"He's... uh... a friend," Dean managed to say.

"He's an angel," Sam added, getting a glare from Dean. "Literally, I mean. He helps out with cases sometimes."

"Ah." Colette didn't look satisfied. "If this... Cas.. is just a friend... why is he asking you out on a date?"

Sam could have sworn that Dean blushed as he snatched the phone out of Colette's phone, muttering something under his breath. He read the text message (at least that's what Sam guessed it was), the tension leaving his facial muscles. When he looked up, he was cool again.

"Oh... Cas just says that Claire wants to talk, so he was asking if we weren't busy and could meet up," he explained.

Claire raised her eyebrows. "He said 'you' not 'we.' And he put a smiley face at the end of the sentence. How close is this 'friend'? And who's Claire?" she asked suspiciously, folding her arms.

"He likes emoticons!" Dean growled. "And Claire is his daughter. Me and her... we've... uhhh... had a fight. Dammit, I don't know how to explain it," he complained, turning to his phone to text back.

Sam saw the opportunity and took it.

"Now he's texting you, Dean? Is he not calling anymore so that you two can hide how often you two talk?" he teased, grinning at Amy. Amy smirked, realizing the joke, though perhaps not realizing that it wasn't quite a joke.

Dean threw up his hands in the air. "Shit, can a man even have a private conversation? And no, I haven't heard from Cas ever since just after he left the bunker... _okay?_ " he asked, his eyes daring Sam to say anymore.

Sam shrugged. "Fine, fine. You win."

But the damage had been done, damage that Sam had maybe not quite realized would happen, but he had wanted to test Colette's limits. Prove to himself (or not) that Colette was right for his brother (or not).

Colette's whole body pronounced anger. When she spoke, her voice trembled with it.

"You... you're _gay?_ " she asked, her dripping with self-righteous sarcasm.

Dean blinked. "Wait, what? No..." he protested.

"Nah. If anything, he's bisexual," Sam prodded, earning another glare from Dean.

Colette stood up. "And you never told me? I thought you loved me!" Her hands were shaking by her sides.

"No, no!" Dean slid over the seat and stood up as well. "There is nothing going on with me and anyone else. That's the truth, Cosette." His voice took on a teasing tone.

Sam instantly saw it was the wrong time to be making jokes.

"Don't you dare make fun of my name!" Colette yelled at him, causing all the other people in the diner to turn and gawk at them. Dean's eyes flicked around the room, seeing the attention. He glanced at Sam with an _oh-God_ expression.

"Babe, please..." Dean started but Colette cut him off with a slap that on a regular occasion, might sent Dean reeling back and crashing into the table, but he was too used to her slaps by now. He took it calmly, his body staying erect, his head looking straight ahead, although he winced a little.

"Don't call me that, either!" Colette's eyes filled with tears. "Actually, you know what? Don't call me anything!"

She was about to say more, launch into a furious tirade (not that it wasn't furious enough), when something crashed into the window over the next booth to the left. Sam, from where he was sitting, saw a silver metallic foot step onto the dirty plates that had been left on the table from the previous customers.

He jumped up - so did Amy. The customers in the diner sat with open mouths and pale faces.

A robot stood on the table. It had teardrop shaped eyes and a circle embedded in its chest from which a blue light shone forth, kind of like something out of the _Iron Man_ movies that Dean had on his favourites pile by the TV in the bunker. It also had a metal rod sticking out of each side of its head, rounding its head in an arch... almost like headphones, Sam thought.

Colette wasn't having any of it.

"Oh, don't you dare try to make a diversion when I'm in the middle of breaking up with you, Dean Winchester!" she yelled after taking one look at the robot. "Don't you dare!"

Dean looked more flabbergasted at this statement than at the existence of the shiny silver man standing stockstill on the table.

"Wha... wha?" he started but then was cut off again, this time by the silver robot.

"The. Doctor," stated the robot in a nasal robot voice. "Where. Is. The. Doc - tor?"

"Oh my God, won't you just shut up for a moment?" Colette took a step towards the table which the robot was currently occupying. "Is this some kind of a joke?"

The robot turned its head and stared at her a moment. "You will be deleted," it decided, raising its hand towards her.

"Colette! Watch out!" Dean yelled, leaping towards her.

The two fell in a rolling heap to the ground just as a beam of light shot out of the robot's shiny hand. It missed Colette and Dean unfortunately, it did not miss the businessman in a smart suit sitting directly in the line of fire. His body lit up for a split second, his skeleton showing in the freakish light, like an X-ray. Then the light was gone and the man collapsed into his stack of pancakes, his cheek sliding on the maple syrup.

That was when all the people in the diner, except for the Winchesters and their girlfriend(s?), leapt to their feet and screamed. It was also the same moment that every single window left unbroken in the diner was crashed in, other robots, completely identical to the first, stepping up onto the unoccupied (and occupied) tables. It was the same moment that people began running for the door, still screaming, as the robots raised their hands and began shooting whatever kind of beams those were.  
It was also the same moment that while dozens of people ran for the door, two men ran in. One of the men had had light ginger hair, a slightly big nose, and a look on his face that was determined, but Sam recognized a hint of fear in his green eyes. He was wearing a plaid shirt under a vest. The other man, a strand of brown hair falling into his face, was taller and was wearing a jacket over a pinstripe shirt. However, what Sam noticed most was the red bow tie and a long, thin device in the man's hand.

"Everyone out, out, out!" the second man yelled, the crowd in the diner all more than willing to obey the command.

"Uhh... yeah. What he said," the first man agreed, shifting his weight as he stood and looked at the second man as if he were waiting for orders, or just expecting the other man to do something.

"You are the Doctor," the first robot the only one standing on the floor spoke up.

"Yeah, that's me," the man in the bow tie cheerfully replied. "How are the Cybermen doing?"

 _So that must be what these robots are called,_ Sam thought.

"Cybermen do not feel," the robot said.

"Oh, I know. Believe me, I know," the Doctor responded. He looked over at Dean, who was trying to help Colette up, who wasn't allowing him to do so. "You really need to get out of here... this is going to be messy."

"Oh, messy is right in our line... Doctor?" Dean affirmed, and when the man nodded, he added, "We're staying right here with you, Doc."

"Actually, I have a better idea," the Doctor announced. "Run!" he yelled as a Cyberman beam came flashing their way.

They all skedaddled out of the diner after the Doctor. Sam decided that this man obviously knew what they were up against, so it was probably best to trust him. They kept running after they left the diner, until the Doctor stopped them in an alleyway. Dean put his hands on his knees, panting hard as he stood in front of a trash bin.

A gasp suddenly came from the ginger man that caused Sam to look up. "Amy?!"

Sam, his hand on Amy's arm, turned to the shorter man. Amy also looked at the unknown man with a confused look on her face.

"I...I'm sorry, but do we know each other?" she asked, those brilliant green eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

The short man looked absolutely devastated. "You don't remember me, Amy? I'm Rory, Rory Wi... Rory Pond. Your _husband._ "

If this Rory had felt devastated, Sam's whole mind and body was ravaged, plundered, laid to waste by those two simple words. Two little words that held so much meaning. Two words that he had hoped that he might be able to say to Amy one day. Two words that made Sam realize that he had failed to find what he wanted once again.

But he felt Amy reaching out to him, her hand grasping his and clutching it tight.

"I... I don't know what you're talking about," she said, her voice on the point of breaking. "I've never seen you before in my life."

"Never seen...?" Rory shook his head and then turned away, but not before Sam could see tears forming in his eyes.

The Doctor was also looking at Amy in a funny way.

"Amy?" he asked quietly, his voice emotional as well.

Amy looked at him and shook her head. "I don't remember seeing either of you before. But I... I know that I lost my memories."

The Doctor nodded his head. "Rory and I woke up from a dream state to find you missing and the Cybermen chasing us. We don't know what happened. But we'll get your memories back."

Now it was Sam's turn to hang his head just like Rory had done. But then Amy - bless her soul spoke up.

"What if I don't want my memories back? What if I like my life here? With... with Sam," she said, swinging his hand a little and looking up at him. Sam felt a glow of love for her swell up in his heart and he smiled a little at her. He had to feel a little sorry, though, when he looked back at the Doctor and Rory and saw their faces.

"Amy... what happened to you? You never used to be like this," Rory blurted out.

Amy's eyes flashed out angrily. "I've been this way ever since I was abandoned on my own in an alley, just like this one, with no recollection of who I was or where I came from. So, yeah, I was obviously going to become a different person when I had to make a new start for myself."

"Um, guys, can we maybe save the moment for later?" Dean suddenly spoke up. "We have Cybermen coming this way," he added, turning back from peering around the side of the building which hid them from view.

"Do you know of a safe place where we can regroup and make a plan of what to do?" the Doctor asked.

Dean nodded. "Yeah, I know of a hunter friend a few blocks down who has a pretty secure basement. That's what we are, by the way. Hunters." He shrugged and gave Sam an _I-feel-you-man-but-stow-the-crap-for-now_ look.

"That sounds good to me," the Doctor agreed. "Lead the way... uhhh, I don't know know your name."

"Dean," Dean grinned at the Doctor. "Dean Winchester."

"Glad to meet you, Dean Winchester," the Doctor affirmed, his face beaming.

Colette, who hadn't said anything ever since the diner, suddenly spoke up, her voice shrill.

"I'm not going anywhere with you psychopaths!"

"Oh, so we're psychopaths now, are we?" Dean asked grimly, turning to her with a dangerous light in his eyes. "You knew what you were getting into when you came to the bunker with us. And I'm not letting you out of my sight until we get to a safe place."

"I hate you," Colette told him, in a very serious tone.

"Well, you can leave off with the chick-flick moments until we make it to Nat's house," Dean said, and Sam had the feeling he wasn't just talking about Colette. "For now, follow me."


	6. Plan Amy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam swallowed. He had to admit with the French girl... this was all quite a lot to take in. Even with all that he and Dean had said, this was... well, _strange_. And... and if all this were true - then the Doctor was telling the truth. And Rory had a legitimate claim to Amy.
> 
> That decided it. Maybe he was being selfish. No... no, Amy most obviously felt the same way for him. She didn't care about Rory. She didn't remember him. So, even if all of this were true... pretending that he believed it wasn't - that might help him and Amy stay together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long since I last made an update! I had a really rough last four months and I finally got a day to myself after the business of Christmas and New Year's.

Dean led the group of six through alleys and back streets. They walked quickly, but Dean made sure that they stayed hidden as much as possible. Sam was at the rear to make sure that they weren't being followed. From time to time, Amy, who was immediately in front of him, would look back with a curious look on her face - almost as if she were conflicted. Sam couldn't blame her. It wasn't everyday that one found that she had a husband she couldn't remember, and being in love with someone else.

But it still hurt.

Seven minutes and twenty three seconds later (no, Sam, hadn't been counting), they reached a large building with staircase leading to an entrance below the street. Dean led them in this direction. When he reached the bottom, the door was already open and Dean was hugging... _another blonde_? Obviously Dean and Colette were down (or, at least, Sam hoped so), but what was up with Dean and blondes?

"Dean!" Nat exclaimed when Dean had set her down. She was tiny, at least heads shorter than his brother, but she also had a revolver in her back jean shorts' pocket. The tough type. "I haven't seen you in a long while! It's great to see your face."

"Likewise," Dean grinned at her, but his face immediately went back into business mode. "But there's dangerous things coming this way and we need somewhere to hole up and make plans."

Nat immediately became serious as well. "Of course," she said quickly, stepping back and opening the door wider to let them in. "Come on in."

Colette was inching back, but Dean roughly grabbed her shoulder and ushered her in ahead of him. "You're not going anywhere," he said gruffly.

Nat raised her eyebrows and mouthed _girlfriend?_ at Sam. Sam shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes in response.

The interior was a nice apartment, but Sam didn't see much of it, for Nat led them to a door and more stairs going downstairs - the basement. Here was a comfy little TV room - but Nat kept going.

"This is just for the unknowing guests," she said as a way of explanation, going to the wall and pushing on it.

A panel slid aside and Nat went in immediately, switching on the lights and revealing a room that reminded Sam, with a nostalgic pang, of Bobby.

There was a bigger table in the middle, not as big as as the table in the bunker library, but much longer than a standard kitchen table, chairs all around. The walls were lined with guns and older weapons - spears and swords and the like.

"For the ones that can only be ganked by certain weapons," Nat said when she noticed Sam looking. 

"Have a seat," she invited, pulling out a chair and sitting herself. "I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Nat, a hunter friend of Dean's. And you must be Sam, Dean's brother," she said, looking at Sam. He nodded. 

"But I don't know the rest of you?" she asked.

"I'm Amy," Amy said smoothly, politely, amiably. Sam couldn't help but feel more than a little proud of her and the way she could make a friend of out anyone. "I'm Sam's girlfriend," she added. Out of the corner of his eye, Sam saw Rory flinch.

"And I'm Dean's girlfriend," Colette broke in abruptly.

"Colette," Dean added.

Sam opened his eyes wide. After all this time - after all that had happened - Dean was _still_ sticking with this chick? What was his problem? There was going to be a big talk about this as soon as there was a chance.

"And I'm the Doctor and this is Rory," the Doctor said. He had a big grin on his face and his eyes were sparkling. Sam couldn't help but forget the gravity of Dean's actions at that man's smile. There was something contagious about his enthusiasm.

"The Doctor?" Nat asked. "That's your name?"

The Doctor nodded. "Yes. Just the Doctor."

Nat narrowed her eyes. "There's something different about you," she decided after a moment.

"Yeah, umm, that would be the Time Lord thing," Rory spoke up.

"Time Lord? What's a Time Lord?" Amy asked.

Even through all that enthusiasm, Sam noticed the slightest wince cross across the Doctor's face. Amy must have been really special to the Doctor, not only Rory, Sam thought with a twinge of guilt. Why was he guilty? For taking her away? But what if Amy were to leave? In fact, she should...

"Alien species. Not human," the Doctor replied. "We're a whole 'nother race. I'm the last of the Time Lords."

"So your whole kind was wiped out?" Dean asked in astonishment.

The Doctor shrugged. "That was a long time ago." But his eyes carried a weight that hit Sam right in the gut. It was a look that he had grown to recognize from his own brother's eyes - that from the struggle and hardships of living and feeling alone.

"That's insane!" Colette snapped, folding her arms. "What the hell is all this? Stop pretending! First men disguising themselves in metal suits... and now a man pretending to be from a different world? There are no other worlds... and you look perfectly human! What's wrong with all of you?"

Sam swallowed. He had to admit with the French girl... this was all quite a lot to take in. Even with all that he and Dean had said, this was... well, _strange_. And... and if all this were true - then the Doctor was telling the truth. And Rory had a legitimate claim to Amy.

That decided it. Maybe he was being selfish. No... no, Amy most obviously felt the same way for him. She didn't care about Rory. She didn't remember him. So, even if all of this were true... pretending that he believed it wasn't - that might help him and Amy stay together.

Sam felt like the slightest bit of a jerk, but he spoke up anyway.

"I agree with Colette. Dean, you and I have seen the supernatural, but this is just BS. Aliens don't exist."

A look of frustration crossed over Dean's face, but, surprisingly, the Doctor didn't look the least bit flustered. He must be used to having people not believe him.

"That's okay, Sam," he said. "We can still work together to save the world. I don't need you to believe in me. I just need your help with the Cybermen."

"Are you crazy, Sammy?!" Dean spluttered. "I can understand Colette not understanding what's going on... but... _you_? What about Cas? Angels and God and demons? Isn't that stranger than walking metal men? And I think Heaven and Hell damn well show that there are other worlds. We've both been there!"

The look of hurt and betrayal on his brother's face almost made Sam revoke his earlier statements.... but, no. He couldn't. For Amy's sake. For Amy's sake, he repeated to himself. This wasn't for him. It was for her. She had been scared and alone long enough - sending her with a husband she didn't even remember would be cruelty.

So he just swallowed and then shook his head.

"No, Dean," he said. It was hard to keep his voice steady. "It makes no sense at all. I get the walking metal men... but aliens. That's just plain superstition."

Dean's shoulders slumped and he looked down at his hands. A moment later, he looked up again, but he avoided his brother's gaze and turned to the Doctor.

"Okay, Doc... do you have any plans? How do we defeat these Cybermen?"

"We don't," the Doctor replied. "At least, not directly. We have to stop whatever is controlling them."

"And who's controlling these metal men?" Nat asked. Her tone was a little sarcastic, but she seemed to believe the Doctor - or, at least, was avoiding the whole alien issue and focusing on the more important one at hand. But the curiousity in her face as she looked at the Doctor hurt. The only person on his side was Colette, and he had nothing to want to do with her.

Amy reached under the table and squeezed his hand. Sam looked at her and smiled a little before turning back to the Doctor. Amy was on his side. That was good.

(But her gaze did flicker to Rory from time to time.)

"There's a big red button," the Doctor said.

Nat rolled her eyes. "Noooo... really." Now her voice was dripping with irony.

"No, really!" the Doctor protested. "Someone or something wanted the Cybermen to attack this world. So they brought them back from a little space in between worlds where I trapped them. The space is kept locked..."

"By a big red button," Dean interrupted.

"Exactly." The Doctor looked a little sheepish. "It was fool-proof," he protested.

"As long as someone didn't get a hold of that big red button." Nat sighed. "All right. So as long as we get to the button, we can send them back, right? Where is it?"

"Yes," the Doctor agreed. "And... I'm not sure."

Nat slapped her forehead with her hand. "You don't know! The fate of the entire city rests on a button we don't even know the location of. Am I hearing this properly?"

"No, I think I heard the same thing," Rory supplied helpfully.

"The entire world, actually," the Doctor said.

"What?" Nat asked, whipping around to look at the Doctor full on.

"The entire world is at stake," the Doctor replied. "And that's why I think I know where the button is."

Nat raised her eyebrows. "That sounds a little more hopeful."

The room lapsed into silence. ( _For God's sake,_ Sam thought.)

"So where is it?" Dean asked impatiently.

"The button should be in a central place," the Doctor said slowly.

"So...?" Nat asked. Impatience was beginning to show in her features.

The Doctor suddenly stood up so fast that his chair crashed to the floor. Colette jumped and cursed under her breath.

"I know where it is!" the Doctor shouted, spinning around and rubbing his hands together like a mad man.

"Where is it?" Nat asked, grumbling under her breath.

The Doctor turned and beamed at them all.

"We're going to be taking a trip to the United Nations, folks," he said.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"The U.N.?" Sam grumbled. "Why would a villain hide with the United Nations? They're supposed to be the good guys."

Dean looked at him with an _umm, duh_ look. "Don't the bad guys always hide among the ones who are supposed to be good? Politicians, Sammy. Corporate leaders and all those scumbags who rule the world. I seriously doubt the United Nations' actual mission is peace. They're probably got a whole crapload of bad stuff hiding there, just waiting to be unleashed among the world. Diseases, the like... where do you think all those new flus that suddenly appear come from?"

Sam had to admit, he agreed with his brother. Life had taught him that the world wasn't all rainbows and unicorns - in fact, most of it was exactly the opposite. But then, Plan Amy meant going with the opposite of the Doctor.

So he set down the gun he had been cleaning and turned to face his brother.

"So, we're just supposed to believe everything that stands for good is bad? That doesn't make any sense, Dean. What about people like Mother Teresa and Gandhi? Were they bad? What about angels? There are some good ones. Like Cas."

It was a dick move, he knew, to sway Dean with Cas, but then, he also knew it was the one most likely to work.

It didn't this time, though.

"Of course there is some good among the bad," Dean rolled his eyes. "But then vice versa is also true. And knowing our line of business, it's mostly bad. That's just the way it was."

And that's just the way the conversation ended because Sam couldn't come up with any other excuses.


End file.
